Thoughts Under A Starry Night

Cross-cultural communication is a tricky thing, unless you know the same language of the person you are communicating with. Brilliant is an 18-year-old native here in Madagascar and is one of our translators here on this trip. It seems like each day he surprises me with something new. Tonight it was profound wisdom... This week I've thought about relationships a lot more than what I've allowed myself to in the past couple months. For those of you who know me well, I have a big heart for marriage. Ever since my last breakup every morning I've gotten into the habit of waking up early and having my quiet time. At the end of the prayer section of my quiet time I always end that section the same way: praying for my future wife. I don't know where she is and I definitely do not know who she is, but I always ask that the Lord will keep her safe wherever she is; that He will guide her in big decisions and that He will protect her from harm and evil. Since I have a passion for pastoral ministry, I pray for her to be ok with doing ministry alongside me, dealing with the stress of discipleship and people in general. In the end I ask God to be preparing both of us for each other before, according to his own time table, we finally cross paths. It's funny that I can be hundreds of miles away from home and still find myself thinking about things pertaining to my future. As Brlliant and I finished our dinner we both took a walk across the street from everyone else and shared thoughts. As I marveled at how bright the stars look under an African sky, I revealed to him thoughts I've had for quite a long time; questions concerning where I will be years from now, what being a pastor will be like, and of course, what "she" will be like. Tonight was probably the first time I vented my heart out to someone else while away from America. Poor Brilliant...I could only imagine what he was thinking. Yet being the young man of God he is, he listened, and in the end gave me some good advice. He gave me a Malagasy saying which, translated, goes like this: "If you are the owner of the cow, you don't have to ask if you can eat it." At first I was confused on how that was encouragement, but he explained further. Over the course of the trip I have been working alongside translators to share the Gospel to the Malagasy people. Brilliant knew me to being an evangelist, and just simply said that if I claim to preach the Bible, I should just trust what God says in it. So, in that case, if God says to trust Him...well, TRUST HIM THEN! Trusting God is never easy. From personal finances to decisions about the future, anxiety can easily breathe down our necks like nobody's business. We fret and shake at the thought that our plans for our lives will be torn down. Just like the skyscrapers in Downtown Fort Worth or the great temples dedicated to false deities around the world, we too are prone to carefully construct great monuments in our minds. We put great thought into these architectural giants. Often times these monuments are birthed while we dream at night. In the end, we call these works of art "Our Future" and bet our lives that this is how our lives will end up. Yet just like a thief in the night the Lord has His ways in keeping us humble. With the force of a sledgehammer the Lord whacks away at our masterpieces. When He does this, we tend to feel like He's betrayed us; that He's abandoned our lives. The time and energy it took to construct "My Future" goes to waste as brick by brick the Lord takes it down. We yell, scream, cry, and feel pain at this. We question His goodness, faithfulness, and love. Yet, the Lord doesn't do a thing without a good reason. Maybe...just maybe...He is merely building something better. Since He is the Grand Architect, maybe He is perfecting our work, but before that, He must start from scratch. He must first supervise our lives before we can plan our future. This may take months, years, or more, but towards the end of the project, He finally names His work of art. The name: "My Plan for Your Future." I will admit to you right now, it has been very hard for me to trust God with plans for my life. Often times I feel like just laying in my room with the lights out, wallowing in the many question marks I may have regarding my future wife. I feel that for every young man, it is inevitable for us to think about marriage. While I am not looking to be married tomorrow, I can honestly say that after a little over a year praying for someone that may not even exist, that pattern can get to you in a way where, before bed, you end up asking God, "Where is this woman? If she doesn't exist, am I even wasting your time praying for her?" While on this mission trip, we BARELY get time to ourselves. Tomorrow our guide will be at the hotel at some time in the morning. So, as I stay up past my normal bed time to finish this blog, I am reminded of the faithfulness of God as I reflect on how the night ended for me. Tonight I ended up asking several men how they met their wives, and each story was just as bizarre as the last. One story revolved around an internet dating sight, while the next one started with the wife asking the husband out! Case in point, Brilliant was right. God is a God of mysteries, for He works in mysterious ways. Having been a Christian for 6 years now, I'v heard stories that just compel me to sing of His sovereignty! May we continue to be taught to trust Him more and more; to trust that "MY Plan for Your Future" will stand and be blessed for years to come.